the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Elmwood Park, NJ – A former Elmwood Park High School student has filed a lawsuit alleging that she endured “relentless torment, harassment, intimidation, bullying, and abuse” throughout her four years at the school—while administrators, teachers, and counselors allegedly failed to protect her.
Jasmina Zhaku, the plaintiff, claims that the school district, the Elmwood Park Board of Education, and multiple officials—including Superintendent Anthony Iachetti, Assistant Superintendent Jillian Torrento, Principal David Warner, Vice Principal Leon Samuels, counselors Rebecca Palmero and Imelda Jameson, and cheerleading coach Katie Hackett—failed to act despite repeated reports of harassment.
The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court, also names several students who allegedly participated in the bullying.
Bullying Began Freshman Year
According to the suit, the harassment began in December 2019, during Zhaku’s freshman year. She was labeled a “snitch” by classmates, and a senior allegedly threatened her with physical harm.
The bullying escalated in her sophomore year (2020-21), when a student “intentionally” kicked and kneed her in the face and neck during cheerleading practice. Despite the injury, coach Katie Hackett allegedly dismissed the incident, saying, “accidents happen.”
Zhaku also says she was followed and intimidated by students in a car and falsely accused of racism, which led to her being excluded from the school’s track team group chat.
Harassment Continued Beyond School Grounds
The lawsuit claims the bullying wasn’t confined to the classroom or campus. During the summer, other students went to the pool where Zhaku worked as a lifeguard to “harass, abuse, and embarrass her” in front of co-workers.
By junior year (2022-23), the harassment intensified with students bullying her during lunch, in the hallways, and through text messages. In one incident, three students followed her down Church Street, recording her while “harassing and bullying” her.
Senior Year: Social Media Bullying and Isolation
Zhaku’s senior year allegedly brought more public humiliation. Students called her derogatory names, and one peer posted a senior class photo on Instagram but deliberately cropped her out.
In May 2023, she was bullied on social media by “dozens of students.” The harassment was reported to Vice Principal Leon Samuels, who allegedly told her it wasn’t worth filing a harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB) report because there were only 10 days left in the school year.
The suit also claims that other seniors verbally abused her in a group chat, calling her “stupid” and falsely accusing her of wearing blackface.
School Officials Accused of Ignoring Complaints
According to the lawsuit, Zhaku repeatedly begged officials to protect her. She pleaded with coach Hackett not to place her in cheerleading groups with her bullies, but her concerns were “dismissed.”
A formal harassment complaint was reportedly filed but deemed “unfounded” by the school.
The lawsuit further alleges that because the school failed to intervene, a group of students vandalized her family’s cars.
Failure to Protect Students?
The lawsuit argues that the Elmwood Park Board of Education and its members “knew or should have known” about the ongoing bullying and failed to take appropriate action, ultimately leaving Zhaku unprotected.
When contacted for comment, Superintendent Iachetti and Board of Education President Louise Gerardi did not respond. Zhaku’s attorney, Jeffrey Youngman, also declined to comment.
A Larger Conversation About School Bullying
This case highlights ongoing concerns about how New Jersey schools handle bullying and intimidation. Despite anti-bullying policies, many parents and students argue that schools often fail to protect vulnerable students or enforce consequences for harassers.
The lawsuit seeks damages and accountability from the district, administrators, and students involved.
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Where were the parents in all of this?
If an HIB is requested it has to be investigated. “There’s only 10 days left in the school year” is not an acceptable response.
Same stuff, different district when I went to school in NJ, except social media didn’t exist then. It’s appalling that nothing has changed, despite the alleged implementation of anti-bullying policies. Administrators and teachers 1) don’t want to get involved, 2) are ineffective if they do, or 3) actually support the students creating the hostile environment. Blame the victim for being whatever. And the perpetrators’ parents believe their little darlings can do no wrong. The attitude is that bullying is part of life, so live with it. How bad must the situation be for Jasmine to be harassed when school is out for the summer? If her family’s cars were vandalized, whether on school property or at home, the police should have been notified. Were no security cameras around? Arresting one of those miscreants might have sent a message.
Not surprised at all. In Elmwood Park, if you’re part of the elite circle, they always cover for each other. This isn’t an isolated case—there have been many more incidents that the staff and superintendent have brushed aside. This isn’t about low staffing or inadequate training; the truth is, they simply don’t care. The staff is rude, and unless you have connections within the community, you’re treated like an outsider.
I mean considering that the majority of the Elmwood Park teacher and staff are people of color I would be hesitant to help a student that is being “bullied,” due to her past racist actions.
I am clearly looking at a picture of her in black face as I am commenting….
It hurts to read this article knowing the video and photo evidence of her using multiple racial slurs against communities that are majorly populated in Elmwood Park. She wants to label herself as a victim of bullying despite her previous high school history as a bully against those who were “weaker” than her as well as the fact that there is again video evidence of her physically assaulting a former student in the lunch room. Are we really going to excuse this type of behavior and label her as a victim, when in the entirety of her high school career she was a bully, perpetrator, and assaulter.
Reading these further comments and clarifications of the situation was shocking. Bullying can include false accusations. Where can the video evidence be found? Otherwise, I stand by my post in general. And, no one’s family should have their cars vandalized.
The video was something shared within our entire class, and I’m not sure it’s appropriate to reshare publicly AGAIN but those who saw it know what happened. These weren’t false accusations. Yes, no one’s family should have their cars vandalized and that’s never okay. But at the same time, no one should have to experience racist comments or behavior either. That harm is just as serious to us and shouldn’t be ignored.
And to be clear, the only people vouching for her are her family. Every student in that class, maybe even the entire SCHOOL, knows exactly what she did. So at this point, it’s her word against the entire student body and that says a lot.
There is a video of this “plaintiff” clearly yelling the n word… not once… not twice… but more than three times. Do not be so quick to believe everything
When I read this, I was honestly shocked and frustrated. No one deserves to be bullied, but this entire situation could have been avoided. She wasn’t innocent.. she used racial slurs and did blackface, which is incredibly offensive, especially in a diverse community like ours. People weren’t reacting out of nowhere, they were reacting to blatant disrespect. And when you show that kind of ignorance, there are real consequences. These same issues are being brought up again two years after graduating, which shows that she hasn’t learned from her mistakes and has the same ideals. I truly hope the truth gets out and this girl gets better.
Honestly just looks like a money grab to me, watch out everyone, she sues people for a living and looks like they ran out of the money from their past lawsuits, THERES NEEDS TO BE AN END TO THIS NONSENCE
helooooo
BRUH
Ngl she was racist af tho lmaooo